Bob’s thoughts:
Usually when we visit a church that is lacking signage it proves to be an inward-focused church, so with the lack of signage I was surprised at the mission involvement. There is a large wooden cross high in the Sanctuary and an interesting round stained glass window on the Chancel wall. The pews on either side are angled toward the center, making the worship more focused.
There was some constant chatter behind us through the first half of the service that did stop for the Sermon.
The Sermon, I think, was about how we should strive against contamination. I am not sure what Bible is common here but we were told that the Devil doesn’t tempt us, which is contrary to any version of the Bible that I’ve read.
I was pleased to take Communion, although it was served silently. The Deacons served the Bread and the Elders the Cup. I also appreciated the comment that it should be referred to as the “First Supper.”
Found it very confusing as to what the normal time of worship might be: both the website and sign say 9:45, but today that meant 10 a.m.
Jan’s thoughts:
We arrived with more time to spare than we anticipated, as we understood this service was to begin at 9:45 but it turned out to be 10. Numerous members of the congregation also were confused about the start time. But it did give us some time to speak with the pastor and learn a little about the church.
The first thing I saw when we walked into the Sanctuary was a Malawian banner on the front wall. Apparently this church has formed a partnership with a church in Blantyre Synod but independent of the long-standing partnership between Pittsburgh Presbytery and the Synod of Blantyre. The sister church happens to be the home church of The Rev. Silas Ncozana, one of the co-founders of the Pittsburgh Presbytery/Blantyre Synod Partnership. There were numerous bulletin boards and photos and much information about this church. The world gets smaller every day.
This is a pretty little church with a roundabout route to the parking lot and lots of steps to climb back up once we parked. The people were genuinely friendly…many greeted us before, during, and after the service and seemed sincerely happy to see us.
The signage was prominent where necessary. The bulletin was user-friendly; it was helpful to have worship-related information on one different-colored insert.
There was a fair amount of stained glass, including a Star of David on the rear wall of the Chancel…an object not normally seen in a Christian church, but very nicely done with Scripture around the frame. Also a large wooden cross toward the front of the Chancel and attached to the ceiling.
The music was traditional, which is fine, but I was completely unfamiliar with five of the six hymns. Although I was willing to try, they were very difficult to sing and totally new to me so I just read and appreciated the words/poetry.
The Sermon was entitled “Godly Treasures for Godly People – Psalm 101: A Purifying Life-Style!” and was based on Psalm 101 wherein David expresses his desire for a pure life. I agreed with some of the pastor’s points, such as that God does not tempt us and that we humans use God’s good gifts in perverted ways. However I totally disagree with his statement that neither does the Devil tempt us and that humans are at fault for the evil in this world because it is an act of our will. Not only can I not find a single statement in Scripture to support this argument, I can find numerous ones that dispute it. Christ Himself experienced Satan’s temptation (Matthew 4). No doubt humankind bears a certain amount of responsibility for the evil in the world, but throughout Scripture we are taught that the Devil is responsible for bringing evil into the world initially and that he can and does tempt us.
We are constantly at war with unseen forces (Ephesians 6:12), but are helped (Isaiah 41:13, Hebrews 2:18), protected (Ps 32:7, John 17:15), and given victory (I John 4:4) by God Almighty.
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